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Games: Reviews

Fable: The Lost Chapters PC, £34.99; 16+ Few games could have lived up to the hype that preceded last year’s Xbox release of Fable. Here, we were told, was a role-playing game set in a living, breathing world where every action had its consequences, and where your hero would change to reflect the marks of fortune, deeds and time. In some respects, it delivered. The realm of Albion did not offer the freedoms of, say, GTA’s San Andreas, but there was something fascinating about moulding your man and watching him grow saintly, strong or sinister. And while battle scars and bulging muscles charted your developing skills, the adulation of a town’s population — or its fear and loathing — signalled your reputation. Few worlds felt so immersive, so personal, so alive.

Fable’s weakness was one of scale. It should have been an epic, but it ended abruptly and without a real climax.